


Grocery Store Ghosts

by bearhead



Series: The Sound of You [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Boys In Love, Daryl ain't never calling him that, Don't come at me with that Jesus shit, Established Relationship, For undisclosed reasons, M/M, Mute!Daryl, Not if I have anything to say about it, Paul will be called Paul, Promo fic, Snippet, general anxiety disorder, grocery stores, liminal zones, pure fluff, young!Daryl, young!Paul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearhead/pseuds/bearhead
Summary: Daryl and Paul go to the grocery store and Paul unloads a bit more than Daryl was prepared for.Modern Day University AU - Snippet from a huge multi-chapter fic I'm working on - Mute Daryl





	Grocery Store Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually a very tiny part of a very huge fic that I'm attempting to undergo, so I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Teaser for the fic in progress:  
> -Daryl doesn't speak for reasons which will be revealed  
> -Rick Grimes is a literal angel (but like not literally)  
> -Merle is a fucking good big brother  
> -Dark themes with cinnamon roll characters because I just want everyone to be happy dammit 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this teaser scene!
> 
> _Thoughts are in italics._

“Ugh grocery stores really freak me out…” Paul mumbles mostly to himself and takes a step closer to Daryl, smoothly catching his hand as it swings by, startling Daryl from wondering if the cakes in the display actually taste as good as they look. He's too distracted by his boyfriend's odd comment to care if the random strangers nearby see them holding hands at the moment. He snorts out a laugh and throws a clear ‘what the fuck’ look at Paul. 

_‘Who the fuck hates grocery stores?’_

“No, Daryl! Hear me out. “ Paul whispers urgently with a cute little tug on Daryl’s arm, as if he heard every word the taller boy thought. He turns to glance down at Paul with an inquisitive expression.

_‘Shoot’_

The smile that wins from Paul makes Daryl want to cry a little bit it’s so beautiful. He vacantly follows the tugs on his hand directing him further down the aisle and into step with his boyfriend. 

“Okay so like the thing with grocery stores is you can never tell what fucking time it is in them. Like, uhh, stop right here. Look around you. And like….pretend you don’t know what you know you know. You know?”

Daryl goes from complacent to pissed off. 

_‘What the fuck, Paul. That don’t make any goddamn sense. And you got me standin’ here, lookin’ around like a imbecile.’_

“Daryl! Daryl. Shut up, I’m sorry, I realize that made more sense in my head than it did outside of it. Just….stand here. Pretend you just woke up, you don’t know when, where, or why you are here, but you woke up in this very spot…….What time would you think it is?”

Daryl looks at him like he’s an idiot. _‘Paul I know what fucking time it is.’_

“No, you’re not allowed to know what you know remember? Just look around. From this spot what time would a spontaneously arrived Daryl think it is?”

Daryl bravely looks in Paul’s eyes for a second and decides to take him seriously even though he feels like a fucking moron. He takes two deep breaths, soaking in the hint of adoration in the shorter man’s gaze before taking in his surroundings. 

They’re in the baking goods aisle and fuck if Daryl knows why. Everything is brightly lit, well stocked, and well organized. A glance down one way shows the dairy section on the back wall where two people are separately examining products. He flicks his gaze the other way and can see a sliver of the produce section and he hears someone laughing. 

He turns back to Paul with an apologetic little shrug. _‘I dunno.’_

Paul smiles at him, softly for a few seconds, before his expression turns victorious. He grins as he pulls back and winds up for wherever this is going. 

“Exactly! You can’t tell what time it is. Is it 2am? Is it 7pm? I have no fucking clue. Grocery stores always look exactly the same. And I dunno I just really don’t like that! It’s like time doesn’t even exist in grocery stores. Like they’re supernatural zones…” Daryl startles slightly as Paul’s body goes tight, his gaze snapping to the shelves in front of him, and his face losing all expression except for a spark of realization deep in his eyes. “...we’re lucky they even let us out.”

Daryl hunches down slightly into his shoulders, suddenly feeling vaguely haunted by the bottles of vegetable oil staring at him from the shelves. 

“Anyways! That’s really it…” Paul says in a cheery dismissive voice after a long moment of silence during which he too, presumably, was pondering grocery store ghosts. “I just think it’s kinda weird you know?”

Daryl nods his head because he does know….now. Paul had to expose him to the dark underside of grocery stores and he’ll probably get anxious about it every single time he ends up in one from here on out.

Paul smiles happily and continues with his shopping, seemingly unaware of the fear appearing slowly on the other’s face. 

…or maybe he’s aware and just doesn’t care. Maybe he is not at all concerned about the ghosts he just left his boyfriend with. 

No. Paul always notices and he always cares. And he would never want to cause Daryl harm… 

…but Paul seems much happier now than he had when they first entered the store, a noticeable skip to his step to match the smile on his face and a deceivingly stiff arm keeping his boyfriend close to enjoy his warmth.

Paul must’ve just wanted to share some of his ghosts. God knows he has a million. And something about this moment had Paul feeling safe enough to let some of them go. 

But Daryl couldn’t. 

He snatched onto the other man’s ghosts like his subconscious couldn’t bear to let any part of Paul disappear. So...great. Way to go brain! Way to pick up yet another fucking anxiety. 

But he thinks about it again, and actually…..the ghosts seem rather friendly. They morphed in the transition, absorbing Paul’s affection for Daryl on their way. So that when Daryl thinks back on Paul’s exposition on the timelessness of grocery stores, the only thing he feels is fondness for the man in the memory that always says such ridiculously strange and perceptive things...even if they inadvertently leave Daryl in an existential crisis. 

He’s not scared or uneasy, just amused at his boyfriend’s antics and in love with his brilliant and creative mind. 

The memory leaves him warm.

And Daryl finds himself happy to take these ghosts off of Paul’s shoulders and cherishes the lightness in his step and the adoring smile on his face as he looks back at Daryl to find him already looking at him. Daryl blushes and turns his gaze but doesn’t fight the affectionate smile sneaking onto his face, knowing Paul sees it and reads his expression as easily as any book.

 _‘You are truly something else. How did I ever get so lucky?’_

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I'm a new writer so feedback is extremely welcome!
> 
> Also I'm looking for betas/cheerleaders for the multi-chapter fic this oneshot is from. Drop me a line if you're interested!
> 
> tumblr @butnevergrowup or @hopelesslydesus (sideblog about these two gay dudes)
> 
> Peace


End file.
